More Than Good Looks
I remember the night clear as a bell.
The night we first got cozy enough to,— well—-.
The moment I removed my shirt for more.
Your smile fell straight to the floor.
Haven’t you seen a man like me before?
I didn’t mean to shock you to your core.
My body is covered with ugly scars.
More of them than there are stars.
I was tortured. That was my fate.
I was an undercover agent, mate.
No, despite it all, I didn’t talk.
So, in the end, they let me walk.
Thank God, they didn’t touch my private parts.
Or else I might have sang like a lark.
Why I was released, I have no idea.
They just turned me loose & said, “I’ll see ya.”
But, they won’t ever see me once more.
I quit the service as soon as I walked in the door.
I was hospitalized for weeks & nearly died.
They couldn’t tell if I was dead or alive.
Somehow I managed to pull through.
It was enough for me. I ain’t no fool.
It took you some time to get over the shock.
Other girls couldn’t and left me to rot.
Later, you accepted me for who I am.
I am more than good looks. I am a man.——R. W. Johnson—–(2014)